This afternoon, officials at the Hygienic Laboratory at the University of Iowa confirmed that testing performed on a sample of Daniele, Inc. sausage taken from an ill individual found a DNA match to the Salmonella Montevideo that has sickened 187 people in 39 states (one case in Iowa) since July 1, 2009.

On Jan. 23, Daniele announced a recall of more than 1.2 million pounds of its sausage products because of the possible salmonella contamination.  More information about the recalled products is available on the FSIS Web site at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/FSIS_Recalls/. 

The Iowa Department of Public Health and public health officials in Plymouth County, Iowa, investigated the one case of Salmonella Montevideo in the state.  They discovered leftover suspected sausage product frozen in the individual’s home and immediately sent the meat to the Hygienic Laboratory for testing. 

Using DNA fingerprinting, the laboratory confirmed that the meat product contained the same Salmonella Montevideo strain as the national outbreak, which also matched the salmonella isolate from the patient.  The Hygienic Laboratory is the first lab in the nation to confirm this connection.